Never underestimate the power of a user interface.
When we started chattering about this stuff in '99, there was excitement in the air about the whole notion that portal companies like Yahoo! might come to replace Microsoft, the OS giant, as the primary navigational method or starting point on your computer.
This week, stories have been flying fast and furious about Google and the browser, but with the release of an upgrade to My Yahoo!, users are getting a concrete reminder that Yahoo has a longer history as an integrator of search and web services. Not only that, but they've been the most skilful integrator of them (Microsoft has been through many hiccups on that front). Yep, they're just a lot better at it than anyone else. You can access a lot of Yahoo! Stuff with a common login.
So why is Google getting all the ink? Yahoo's long been working on companions, toolbars, and various "meta-level" initiatives "on the desktop." Why hardly any stories about a "Yahoo browser"? (No, I don't mean IE optimized for Yahoo, as offered through certain major ISP's.)
I'm one of those weirdos who uses Yahoo! Mail as my email client to retrieve all the email from my POP-based accounts, and to send, receive, and organize information. (I also use GMail -- who could resist?) It always took a bit of hunting on My Yahoo page (or typing of the URL or accessing a bookmark) to actually fire up Yahoo Mail, though. The new-look My Yahoo! is clearly moving in the direction of a desktop-like interface with a big button for email that makes it easier to fire it up.
If everyone's talking about a top-secret Google browser project today, maybe that suits Yahoo! just fine. They can be the $47 billion company that flies under the radar.
Posted by Andrew Goodman
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